Weclome to Flight Ops (Hanger & Flight Deck)

[Akirapryde]

Stardate: 53834.29
USS Thunderchild, NCC-63549
Deck 13, Hanger Deck
The Dragon's Lair
Lieutenant Paxton and Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Noonia

The hanger deck of the USS Thunderchild is in some ways the same as those on any other Akira Class. However this hanger deck was expanded to occupy nearly the entire deck. Unlike her sister ships, the Thunderchild gave up much of her armaments to bluster a diverse strike capability. Instead of the normally mounted fifteen torpedo launchers across the ship, the Thunderchild carriers only five (three forward and two aft) in its weapon pod. The saved weight went towards its impressive hanger and flight deck. It has become a matter of debate within Starfleet if the Thunderchild would be able to deliver the same level of strike capability as her sister ships. The answer would be found in the Thunderchild's flight and hanger decks.

These areas are critical for the kind of flight operations that the Thunderchild has been designed to deploy. Other Akira class ships have a split design flight deck where the Thunderchild has a fly through flight deck. Because of the change in the flight deck, the deck right below the flight deck was converted in to a fully functioning hanger deck. These changes have allowed the Thunderchild to deploy up to sixty fighters (Five wings of each of the two current models that the Federation employs). Currently there are only twenty four fighters aboard the ship. But within the following weeks, the remaining fighters will be deployed to the ship as their flight crews are trained up. While the ship is under staffed with fighters, this has given the illusion that the hanger deck is much more spacious than it really is. As one walks on to the hanger deck they are greeted by a large pennant hanging high over the center of the hanger deck.

In the center of the pennant coiled around a symbol of the Federation was a large dragon. Along the sides of the Pennant were the words, "The Dragons of the Federation". On either side of the large pennant were proudly displayed battle ribbons from the Dominion War. Such battle ribbons were from Velos, Operation Return, and Chin'toka. Along with these well known battles were dozens of other battle ribbons where the names are not as familiar. These battles were far less well known, but no less important to the over all war effort. Along those lesser known battle ribbons hung proudly a ribbon with the name of CMO-26. The region of space where the USS Thunderchild was jumped by overwhelming odds. It was there that ten pilots were left behind as a crippled Thunderchild made her retreat before superior forces. There had been rumors of this ship's heroic battles, but no one could truly feel the pride of this ship till they walked along the hanger deck.

Long before the Federation decided to explore fighter operations, the Thunderchild and her flight crews were proving their worth up and down the front. With little in terms of support and using tactics that had been long thought dead, the Thunderchild was a thorn in the side of the Dominion for over two years. Using older modified craft to act as space fighters, these brave men and women took the fight to a level that the rest of the Alliance couldn't. Boarding their fighters, many knew that this could be their last flight. Yet they still boarded those fighters and took the battle deep behind enemy lines. Which calling those craft fighters at all had been a long time honored joke on the flight deck of the Thunderchild.

The joke came from the fact that these fighters were nothing more than heavily modified support couriers. It was the brave men and women of the flight crews that turned the crafts in to the fighters that they would become. Many of the modifications took place right here in this very hanger deck under the watchful eyes of the Flight Deck Officer. Here, within the Thunderchild's hanger field modifications turned civilian couriers in to formidable fighters that were feared across the Dominion battle field. Stepping on to the hanger deck of the Thunderchild was like walking among legions. If at any time there was any doubt of the loyalty and courage from these men and women, one only needs to look up at those battle ribbons.

Unlike the rest of the ship were much of the original crew of the Thunderchild transferring off during her planned refit in to a fully functioning carrier, the members of the flight deck choose to remain aboard. Most of these junior officers, petty officers and crewmen had fought along this hanger and the flight deck above during this ship's darkest hours. Here they stood against the worst that the Dominion could throw at them, and here they would continue to stand today. They saw themselves different and more elite than the rest of the crew of the USS Thunderchild. Aboard most starships, the crew could be broken up in to three basic colors with their uniforms. Along the hanger deck, the personnel moved about in a multitude of colored vests. One thing about their uniforms that would stand out is that everyone were wearing what appeared to be specially made EV Suites with Starfleet marking on them. There was a breathable atmosphere yet still every member of the deck crew still wore their EV Suites.

Standing at the entry way of the hanger deck, one couldn't help but be impressed by the chaos of what was going on. A flight of six Attack Fighters had just returned from their patrols and were having their weapon systems made safe as other crew members were tending to their own tasks. Hand signals were flying about as crewmen wearing colors like Red, White, Green, Yellow, and Brown were buzzing around doing their own task. It appeared that the whole chaos was under control of a pair of officers in the center of the hanger deck. These officers were green armored EV Suites with purple vests over top of them. It was clear that these two officers commanded the hanger deck and the flight deck above. One was a human male and the other was a female wolfen. They stood in the center of the hanger deck directing everything that goes on. Both wore some kind of headset with a microphone which hung from the headset and covered their mouths. They were giving hand signals as Fighters were 'beamed' down from the flight deck above.